Nightraze: thanks! I always like it when people voice their opinions on my work :D
Tuutje07: I have already made up my mind. But as a writer, it is important for me to stay absolutely neutral while looking at an ethical dilemma in all ways possible. Thank you for the compliments!
Kit: that's good to hear/read. I'll slowly get to the Operatives in the coming chapters :)
"Professor Adamant, that will not be necessary. We can deal with this assassin ourselves; there is no need for you."
"Sorry Professor Goodwitch, can't hear you. Driving through a tunnel. You're breaking up!"
"…Math, I am looking through the window right now. I can see you are still on Beacon grounds with your vehicle."
"…did I happen to mention that your hair looks very good today, Glynda?"
"If you make ONE mistake out there, I will personally discipline you."
"…can't hear you, driving through a tunnel!"
Conversation between Professor Goodwitch and Professor Adamant
Day 47, Sunday, 17:22 – Vale city district.
The problem with knifes was that they could cut both ways. If you didn't handle one correctly, it would hurt you as much as it would hurt your foe. Ethics were pretty much just like knifes, at least some of them. To Yang, pretty much every ethical problem was just that: a problem. The White Fang for example were a bunch of extremist terrorists and, according to Weiss, murderers and kidnappers. The need to take extreme measures to reach a goal was exactly what that had driven the Lonely Angels to go and attack Beacon…and the students had pretty much all forgotten about their deaths.
So why were the Final Solution killings so controversial? What made them different? If the victims were really innocent Fauna, that would make Will a murderous psychopath…and Onyx as bad as the White Fang. But if the victims were NOT innocent Fauna and actually planning some violence, wouldn't that make Will a hero to some humans? Killing terrorists was basically a one-way ticket to be a famous and likeable celebrity. Because terrorists only harmed innocent people and those who killed innocent people deserved to be taken down, one way or the other.
Of course, Yang understood perfectly well why so many people hated the boy for what had happened, even two days after the crime had been revealed. Over time, the killings had turned into a taboo. Something that was horrible and not to be talked about in a light matter. However…there were now two groups of people standing directly against each other. One truth meant that one of her new friends was an irredeemable psycho, while the other one meant that they had wronged him terribly. Civilians and the White Fang claimed that forty members of the normally-extremist organization had been murdered in cold blood without any reason, while the VPD and military organizations claimed that twenty terrorists had been shot to prevent the death of a lot of innocent people. And she didn't know which one of them was being honest.
She wanted to believe Will –she really did- but she didn't even know what to believe anymore, let alone who. She liked the troubled soldier and she truly wanted to help him and get to know him better…but she also wanted to trust Blake and Weiss and both of them were acting like they knew for sure what the truth was.
Of course, their favorite group of soldiers had proven that things were rarely that simple.
"One more time," Ruby asked softly.
There was one reason that they had gathered in the cute little café where they were currently sitting at a large table. Cal, Ash, Lily and…the big guy…had agreed to help them find out the truth. For some reason, Blake had declared that she wanted to meet someone else and she had run off before anyone could have changed her mind.
She was probably looking for a romantic encounter with Sun, the monkey-boy…
"After some digging, I found some interesting files concerning the Operatives," Cal replied and pulled a few white documents from a bag. His dark hair looked as messy as the day he had revealed his heritage to team RWBY and Yang had to admit that, without the bulky armour that the soldiers of Onyx liked to wear, he looked rather sexy. The dark bodysuit that seemed to function like 'normal' clothes for him perfectly accentuated his slim, yet muscled body. The skintight suit looked a bit uncomfortable, what with the seamless transition between heavy boots, legs and torso of the soldier wearing it.
His partner, Lily, was also wearing such a black bodysuit. Her long, purple hair was normally enough to attract the attention of every guy looking at their general direction, but the emphasis that the suit put on her womanly curves kind of prevented said guys from looking anywhere but her general direction.
It wasn't a wonder that the soldier seemed to prefer keeping her armour on, but a general agreement between Fireteam Lima and the four teams at Beacon had assured that the four of them wouldn't be estranged any more than they already were. That meant no helmets, no code-names and no bulky body-sealing armours to conceal their newfound hotness.
She was getting distracted.
They all shut up when a waitress walked by to deliver their drinks. The woman nervously eyed the two soldiers as she sat the glasses down, but Cal graciously thanked her and she lost her nervous demeanor somewhat after that.
These guys seriously belonged to the 'morally grey department'. The very first encounter between team RWBY and Lima had been them murdering a dozen surrendering criminals. Subsequent encounters however, had made it clear that the four of them were simply humans. They were kind, caring and trustworthy and once you got to know them, you could figure that out. But it was clear that the rest of the city didn't think like that.
On their way to the café, some random lady had spotted Cal and Lily, figured out that they were soldiers and had been quick to call them "baby-killers." Yang had felt the desire to punch that lady's face in, but their two military buddies hadn't batted an eye at that remark. Not visibly at least. Further conversations had revealed that it hadn't been the first time a civilian had openly insulted and accused them.
"Operatives? Plural?" Weiss asked.
"Yes," Lily calmly replied. Three of them. They are based on the ideals of a respected war-philosopher, called the Aristocrat."
"Right," Yang eagerly responded, "Speed, accuracy and whatsthethingie."
"Yes," Cal then replied with a hint of sarcasm. Speed, accuracy and whatsthething." Alright, more than a hint of sarcasm. "Try speed, accuracy and power, or the Marksman, the Dancer and the Brawler. Also, we have less than ten minutes before we need to go again. Border patrol and things."
" Ehm…shouldn't that be common knowledge in Onyx?" Ruby asked, aiming at the comment about the Opeatives.
"You'd be surprised…" Cal sighed. "Need-to-know basis, remember?"
Weiss was not amused, if her angry scowl was any indication to her current mood. She still hated Onyx for causing her family to be blamed, apparently. "Yes. Continue."
"So these Operatives existed, that much we knew. They were supposed to be the best of the best, that much we knew too. But they were covered in black ink and everything they did got covered up It's very hard to gather information on them."
"Let me get this straight," Yang replied, "A military independent organization covering up everything their favorite pets did, with the capability to do so, got nailed so hard that the media could reveal it to the public?"
"There has been a breach somewhere," Lily replied without pulling a muscle. "Someone in Onyx has leaked this Intel…and it wasn't the least guarded piece of intelligence out there. If more secrets leak, national security is at risk." Then she turned to face her partner. "Nine minutes."
"Ehm…national security?" Ruby hesitantly asked, looking worried and confused. "What that's got to do with this all?"
Cal and Lily awkwardly looked at each, before the Faunus sighed explosively and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I had hoped to avoid this. It was better when nobody knew us, but I guess it can't be helped." He looked up, his expression solemn and serious. "We might be new to Vale, but we've been operating for years now, everywhere in Vytal. Our sole purpose is to keep the peace and to protect the innocent –to serve mankind, just like Hunters. Let's keep it at that, shall we?"
"I don't like where this is going," The blonde softly told her sister.
"So, the Operatives-" Cal then tried to change the subject, but Ruby wouldn't have any of that.
"You are hiding something. Don't."
"What-?" The soldier replied in confusion, but the little redhead continued playing her awesome magical game.
"You were close to telling us something that you shouldn't, but you realized it and changed the subject. Now I won't stop nagging you until you return to the subject. What is it that you don't want us to know?"
The two soldiers looked perplexed and annoyed at the same time at Ruby's open display of skill, but like true little stoic jerks they quickly hid their emotions. And went silent. But a combination of Ruby's questioning look and Yang cracking her knuckles greatly reduced their thinking time.
"Onyx has prevented at least a dozen wars in the past twenty years," Lily then finally said, looking more worried than she normally did. "If someone found out about Greystone's previous Operations, they might find other things."
"Things that could spark a war…" Ruby then concluded.
"Exactly."
So that was Onyx' secret purpose? Their reason for existing? To protect the innocent and prevent unnecessary deaths? That was kind of awesome. Too bad that their methods of doing so were so…brutal. So extreme.
"Let's dial back, shall we?" she told the soldiers and grabbed her drink. It had a little umbrella. "These Operative guys…three of them. We got Mantis, speed. We got Will, accuracy. Who is the third?"
"A guy called Blackwood, not important," Cal replied, but Lily visibly repressed a shudder and averted her gaze. Something was up with that. "So far, Onyx had sort of adopted the Marksman-"
Ruby guiltily looked down. Beacon had also disowned said marksman.
"-and the only encounter you guys had with the Dancer was when she engaged Greystone-"
"His name is Will!" Ruby then snapped at the soldier, who visibly flinched when the redheaded girl raised her voice. Several people turned to look at their table and as soon as she realized that, the young girl blushed. But she didn't apologize.
"-right. Not to us. Anyhow, we have yet to encounter the Brawler. There really isn't much information on them, except for a few of Blackwood's feats…and rumors."
"Let's…not delve too deeply into the rumors surrounding someone whose name is 'Blackwood', shall we?" Weiss interrupted him. "What did you find on that document?"
She made a grab for it, but the Fox-boy quickly snatched it back. "Not so fast little Miss Heiress. I should probably explain this one first."
"Six minutes,' Lily reminded him.
"Will you stop doing that?" Yang growled at the girl. This was important and not just to her.
"Remember our conversation regarding willingness to complete missions?" The boy said and took a few gulps from his sugar-water.
"What, that crap about torture? Yeah I remember that. Ruby couldn't sleep the first night after that conversation!" She replied loudly. Her younger sister was fifteen. Getting shot at by criminals was one thing, but hearing talk about people getting burned and tortured was a whole different thing.
"Eleven months and fifteen days ago, Greyst- that is, Will, went AWOL for two weeks."
"Good. What's AWOL?" Ruby then asked him, looking visibly satisfied that she had gotten through to the soldier.
"Absent without leave," Both soldiers then replied at the same time. Lily looked away in annoyance while Cal coughed inconspicuously. "He dropped off the grid and not even our best trackers could track him down. Two weeks later after his disappearance, he came back and received a psych exam and a pat on the head. Now if I pulled off something like that, I would probably be whipped or discharged-"
Yang briefly imagined Will being whipped and then quickly banished that thought away. Her timing was all wrong…she was probably just stressed.
"-but not an Operative. Four days after returning, he requested a specific mission and got sent to deal with a crime syndicate. His goal was to gather information on their gang leader and for some reason, he thought it a good idea to allow himself to be captured in order to infiltrate their ranks."
"That probably didn't work," Yang said.
"Oh it worked alright," Lily darkly said and crossed her arms.
"I don't like where this is going…" Ruby whispered with a disturbed look on her face. She had probably seen something that the rest hadn't, but what?
Weiss patted her on her leg and continued to listen to the Faunus with rapt attention.
"Will got captured, taken to their headquarters and subsequently tortured."
Yang spit out her drink and Ruby gasped loudly, pulling her arms back to her chest as if to guard herself, knocking her drink over with the quick gesture. Weiss moaned as if she was sick and closed her eyes.
The blonde felt her blood boil and she clenched her fists when all of her pity and empathy turned into anger and rage at the torturers. "What happened?" She demanded.
Cal, who saw her eyes shifting between red and lilac, was quick to comply. "It's all in this dossier…including the methods. The criminals had received an anonymous tip which allowed them to prepare a few things. When the Operative arrived, they didn't take any changes. The dossier states that they tortured him for an entire day, using all kinds of methods to tear the information out of him. Electricity, knives and other things. Didn't work out."
Ruby had fallen silent and her skin was growing paler with every passing second. Lily took notice of that and gently tried to make her feel better. "He escaped after that day, killing them all."
"How did he kill those bastards?" Yang growled, trying to calm down the raging torrents of fury inside of her body.
"Like he had been taught; headshots. No time or effort wasted," Cal explained without pulling a muscle.. "Mantis or Blackwood would have returned the favor and made their deaths slow and agonizing, but not Greystone."
The table went silent after that statement, the only audible sounds being the occasional sharp intakes of air courtesy of Ruby and heavy breathing courtesy of Yang. Somewhere through her anger, she was capable of understanding that –since Will hadn't indulged in overly violent murders- the boy wasn't a psychic. That was a point in his favor.
"We need to go," The female soldier softly said, breaking the silence that had followed in the previous statement's wake. She stood up from her chair and placed some Lien on the wooden surface. "Ash has been called upon for a different location and we need to escort him tonight."
There was no reply and the two Onyx soldiers silently took their leave, leaving team RWBY alone.
Yang wanted to reach out and hug her little sister, but she was unsure if Ruby wanted to be comforted. And she had to admit that her own thoughts were in great turmoil, making it hard for her to think clearly. Their entire conversation had been one big mindscrew, but even so she was still able to pluck out a few useable details. Details that she really needed to discuss with someone. "Ruby?" She whispered.
"I want to go back to Beacon…" the redhead softly replied after a few seconds. "I need to find Will…"
She looked like she was about to cry and as such, Yang was grateful for Weiss helping her out. "Hush you…you don't need to find anyone. Let's get back to Beacon and prepare for the journey, because tomorrow we need to leave."
Yang groaned. She had completely forgotten about their assignment; Professor Adamant had told them about an increase of Grimm activity near one of the smaller villages to the north, just outside of Vale. They needed to go there and check it out…but at the moment, she had no desire to prepare for anything yet.
Still, she knew that she had to be rational and strong for Ruby's sake. And the only way of dealing with the copious amounts of information they had received was actively doing things. So Yang got to her feet while Weiss and Ruby recollected themselves and counted the money that the soldiers had left on the table. It was precisely enough to pay for the drinks, with an additional ten Lien as a tip.
While the four of them made the return trip to Beacon Academy, Yang couldn't help but try and make a simple summary of the things she had heard. The Marksman was Will…the Dancer was Mantis and the Brawler was Blackwood. Onyx gave special treatment to their Operatives and whipped soldiers that fell out of line, but at the same time the shady organization had been preventing wars for years. And Will had dropped off the grid for two weeks…doing what? And why had he suddenly requested to combat a crime syndicate of all groups? Killing them was one thing, but allowing yourself to be captured and then tortured just to gain information was senseless and stupid…someone had sold him out. Someone had caused Will to be tortured for an entire day…and she couldn't help but feel that the same person was responsible for leaking the very information that had driven all of his friends away from him.
Ruby and Weiss walked side-by-side all the way back to the castle…and as happy as Yang was to see her two friends so close together, it also made her feel a bit lonely. For the second time in such short notice, she didn't know what to do. And now, she also had nobody to talk to. Blake was still gone and meeting her secret contact and Ruby was too shell-shocked to converse with .Weiss was busy comforting her and the Schnee Heiress was doing a fine job at that…but she longed to be with someone. Someone who knew what to do…someone who could take her thoughts off of the piles of chaos and stress.
But there wasn't anyone. JNPR and LACG were working together on some strange mission, meaning that her other friends were also occupied.
Yang had never actually felt like she needed anyone but her younger sister in her life ….but right now she really needed someone to talk to. Someone who had felt the suffering that the world could bring. But their parents weren't in the city –probably not even in the Kingdom- and she hadn't even spoken to their mother in years.
They continued walking in silence for another fifteen minutes, entering the castle and heading straight for their dormitories. She watched as Weiss and Ruby walked into the room together and she realized that Blake still wasn't back yet.
"Yang…" The redhead softly called out to her. "I need to find Will…I need to ask him something."
"You're not going anywhere sis!" She replied and sat down next to the young girl, gently rubbing her hair in an attempt to get her to calm down.
"But-" The girl tried to object, but Yang didn't allow her to continue.
"I think you should stay here. Everytime you talk to people from Onyx, they add another trauma to your life. Let me look for him."
Weiss' deep, blue eyes met her own and she nodded at the pale girl, who joined them on the bed. "She's right, you know? You are our leader. You need your head clear for tomorrow and Yang's better suited to deal with idiotic boys."
"I…fine…" Ruby agreed and let her head hang. "Take him with you if you find him, please?"
She smiled at the redheaded girl. Will wasn't the kind of person she had wanted to talk to, but it was better than nothing she supposed. And when she turned away and reached for doorknob, she heard her younger sister break into sobbing.
Yang steeled her heart and left team RWBY's dorms.
As soon as her older sister had left the room, Ruby stopped trying to resist her bodily needs so desperately and broke down in sobbing. Her body shook and convulsed as she surrendered to the overwhelming torrents of emotions crushing her mind, feeling her eyes flood with sadness and confusion.
She couldn't help it; she simply couldn't. Her breath came with shudders and tremors as lost complete control. Emotions clogged up her throat and her cheeks grew warm and wet as a small stream of salty liquid left her eyes. Her lips quivered and her hands were shaking, even though she was tightly hugging her own body in a futile attempt to calm herself down.
Why? That was the question she had been asking herself for a long time. Why couldn't the world allow her to help it? Why wasn't anything as simple as she had thought it to be? She wanted to help…she really did! But without even knowing who the enemy was, she couldn't do a thing. For all her hopes and motivations, she was powerless. If the world didn't want to be helped…if the world couldn't be helped…what use was she? What use was any of them? Why were they risking their lives to become a Hunter if they couldn't help anyone?
"Hey," a soft and kind voice whispered to her and she felt a warm arm wrap itself around her waist, slowly and gently pulling her out of her aching cocoon of emotions. "Come here…"
She recognized the voice as Weiss' and allowed the girl to pull her into a soft hug. She couldn't bear the thought of being alone at that moment of vulnerability.
"What's wrong?" Her friend kindly asked her.
She took a few ragged breaths and tried to compose herself. There was so much wrong…and she could not be the only one who felt like that. They had failed in in their most important task; they had failed to protect their fellow human beings. And there was something much, much worse going on than that. "I…I d-don't know w-what to t-think anymore…" She managed to tell her partner, who was still tenderly cradling her. Her body felt warm, even though Weiss always acted so cold to other people.
"Well…sometimes, you can't know what to think," the white-haired girl then softly told her.
Ruby looked up at her friend's face and saw that she too was having a hard time controlling herself. But at least Weiss could control herself in the face of the changing world. She had to be strong too…as team RWBY's leader, she could not allow herself to break down and cry…but it was so hard to steel her heart in the face of all the violence and pain that the world was descending in. And she didn't want to sacrifice her own feelings just like that. Not like that. "I j-just wanted t-to…to make the world a b-better place…but i-it doesn't work!"
Weiss stroked her hair and took a deep breath. "What's going on, Ruby? What is it that makes you so upset?"
Everything! There wasn't a single thing going on that didn't stain the world around her anymore! Beacon was involved in some twisted game, the city was filled with criminal organizations and the Kingdom itself was being invaded by an organization that was the definition of questionable ethics. The White Fang, Lonely Angels and even Roman Torchwick she could deal with, but not that last one. Not Onyx. She couldn't deal with them…and that hurt her even more. She hurt because deep down, she knew that there was a form of truth in what they did. But their way was so wrong…so very wrong.
Ruby took a deep breath and attempted to steady her breathing once more. Weiss and she were lying on the lower part of the bunk-bed; the Heiress lying with her back against the pillow and she lying in the girl's arms. "What pains me the most…is that Peach should be right….soldiers should be bad news. But…but Johnson as also right. Team Lima can work with us…they should work with us."
What hurt her the most wasn't that the world was right; it was that the world was so deeply wrong.
"But…they are working with us now. Things will be alright," Weiss told her, but she didn't get it. Not really.
"Weiss," she desperately tried to get the girl to understand, "Blake…she was a part of the White Fang. But we don't care, do we?"
"No," Weiss decidedly said, "we don't. Blake is NOT like them."
It was worse than that. The White Fang could be described as criminals, terrorists and murderers. But also as misguided, desperate and extreme. However, Onyx could also be described in such a way: murderers, killers…but also misguided, desperate and extreme. And quite opposite to the White Fang, Onyx also did good things. Not much, but they did.
"But…what about Onyx?" She then asked, catching Weiss off guard.
"What about that bunch of cold-hearted rabble?"
That was exactly the problem. Fireteam Lima might have proven to be human, but not Will. His mindset was precisely what was wrong with Onyx; they went too far. And just recently, after having heard what had happened to the boy, she had come to truly understand just what his mindset was. And it was so deeply wrong. It was so wrong and twisted that she couldn't help but
Ruby pressed her head against Weiss' chest in an attempt to calm down further. The Heiress' presence had a soothing effect that surpassed Yang's. She simply felt…good…to be near. She was precisely what Ruby needed. Not just at that moment, but also outside that. It was hard to describe. "They did horrible things…but they want to do good. They think they do good."
"So?" Weiss asked, sounding worried but also strangely urging.
A few last tears fell down her face as she blinked rapidly to dissipate the stinging in her eyes. She was getting to the core of her troubles now. "He was fifteen, Weiss. That's how old I am. Fifteen when he fought in the war and fifteen when he killed all those people. How...how…" she suddenly felt rather silly; not just for breaking down in crying without any warning, but also for not knowing how to formulate her sentences. But Weiss didn't really seem to be bothered by that –on the contrary, her face was practically radiating compassion and kindness.
"I don't know…I truly don't. But…Cal and lily weren't lying to us…though I wish they were. When Yang finds Will…we need to have a serious talk with him. Preferably before tomorrow. Was it the torture thing that upset you so much?"
A shudder ran through Ruby's body and she instinctively pressed herself against Weiss, hoping to get away from all of the chaos and confusion that her world had been thrust into. The Heiress had been able to stop her tears from flowing freely, but that didn't mean that her feelings were gone already. "Partially… mostly. It's just so sad…everything we learn about Onyx makes it harder to hate them…"
Weiss smiled. "See, you're already using the word 'we' instead of 'I'."
She chuckled, understanding the implications of that. She was already thinking about the integrity of their team as a whole, instead of her own emotions. It was a sign that Weiss was cheering her up.
"But I think you're right. For everything that the guy's done in Vale, you can't hate him for it."
"Blake can…" She replied softly, lowering her head. "She believes that the White Fang were innocent, despite what people say."
"Well…if I had to choose between a terrorist organization and a shadowy military one…I would choose neither. I don't trust those Fauna and I don't trust those soldiers."
"But you trust Cal and Lily?" She asked her teammate then, feeling her body relax more with every passing second. Strength was leaving her muscles as well, but that was to be expected. People generally tended to got tired after they got too emotional.
Weiss nodded softly, her white hair rustling with the movement. She had taken the decoration out of her hair, allowing it to flow freely. The smell of her hair was subtle yet very present…and it smelled rather nice. "For some reason, I do. And as stupid as it should be…I think we should listen to Will's side of the story."
Ruby hadn't yet explained why she was so upset…at least not in the words she had wanted to use. But for some reason, that wasn't necessary. Weiss understood why she was upset without her having to say why. It was part of the reason that she was so happy among Weiss lately; the two of them were perfectly in sync. That and…well… "Weiss…thanks."
The pale girl looked surprised. "What for?" She replied and raised her eyebrows.
"You know," Ruby awkwardly explained, suddenly realizing just how close her head was to Weiss' ample chest. Her cheeks flushed red, matching her hair in colour. "For being there for me." Now she was getting embarrassed.
"Don't be silly, you don't need to thank me for that!" Weiss explained with a warm smile. Her smile was a rare and beautiful sight and Ruby's heart jumped and fluttered when she saw it. There was something welcoming about it…a quality that made it hard for her to feel gloomy and sad.
She smiled too and became increasingly aware of her teammate's arm wrapped around her own chest. She had to admit that this was more than simply a comforting act, even though Weiss didn't realize that yet. It felt like something else…and her lying in Weiss' arms like a lover would wasn't really helping. She had felt the same atmosphere between her and her partner a few times before, but never so clearly. But that couldn't be possible, because…Weiss liked boys, right?
Ruby swallowed and her face reddened even more, if that was at all possible. Her smile faded somewhat, adopting a new and nervous quality. She really, really hoped that Weiss wasn't as good at reading people as she was. Because…if she was being honest with herself…she had never actually felt interested in boys like girls were supposed to be. Yang was...but she wasn't, not really. But she had always figured that it was because she was young and inexperienced and still maturing, not because she honestly did not like boys.
The silence was slowly growing unbearable to her and the steady rising and falling of Weiss' chest as the Heiress breathed calmly didn't make it easier. She had never been one to lie to herself; her private lessons with Professor Adamant and her ability to completely read other people by staring at their faces made it possible for her to think clearer than other people at times. She knew her own feelings and she knew when she was lying to herself about stuff. And at that very moment, she was lying to herself about stuff.
It wasn't that she didn't like boys, it was more that she liked girls better than boys. Never had she actually admitted that to herself, but now that she was relaxing so close and…intimate…with Weiss, she couldn't fool herself any longer. She didn't like boys, but she liked girls.
While the revelation should have shocked any other person that discovered their sexuality like that, it did not shock Ruby that much. It actually clarified quite a few things, really. Like why she had responded so extremely to the appearance of Weiss Schnee at the beginning of her career…and why she had instantly felt at ease with her after their problems had been taken care of…and why she couldn't help but stare at Lily's body, clad in the skintight bodysuit that only seemed to serve as a method to accentuate her curves.
'Don´t get distracted!´ She chastised herself, but it wasn't really that memory that caused her temperature to rise through the roof. It was a combination of realizing that she was into girls and the fact that the only girl she wanted to be close with…was currently holding her in a seemingly innocent embrace. Talk about awkward…was she in love with Weiss? Like, really in love?
She should really tell her the truth…about one more problem with emotions and feelings. But on the other hand…Weiss probably liked boys. And she didn't want to ruin their friendship by admitting something that she wasn't even certain of. No…it was for everyone's best that she would stay quiet. It was the best for both her and Weiss that she kept quiet and enjoyed the closeness without interrupting it with words.
Yes…that was probably the best. But the best wasn't the best for her…
Day 47, Sunday, 20:37 – Vale city district.
Math Adamant scanned the nearby rooftops for movement while silently fumbling around with his scroll, one-handed. The night was darker than normal and even though there were lights all over the city, there were still plenty of shadows and dark spots to hide in. For all the disturbances that Vale had been experiencing lately, things were escalating pretty heavily the last few days alone. A big murder-case reopened, Grimm parties attacking isolated villages and one shady organization threatening hundreds indirectly with their methods.
And none of that was as important as the assassin that had been sent to deal with Blake Belladonna. He had only figured that one out by accident: he had been visiting some old friends near the borders of the docks, to talk about the damage that had been done by the collective prowess of Penny, Sun Wukong and Weiss Schnee. The Vale Police Department had been working around the clock to piece together just what had happened, but what the Authorities hadn't informed him about were the seven to eight bodies that had been found in the water. Killed by bladed weaponry in a rather efficient and quick manner. No White Fang had been responsible for that one, so he had gone to investigate once again.
The result of his investigation had manifested itself in him currently lying on a roof with a monocle in his pocket. The group of people that had been found near the docks had belonged to a rather infamous group of mercenaries…and after some digging, Johnson had figured out that said group kept themselves busy with gathering money by means of assassinations. They cleaned up people that important people didn't want around and got paid for doing so. However, their presence at the Docks had been an initial puzzler. They weren't Fauna, so they couldn't have been there for Weiss. Penny wasn't even supposed to be in the city, so it couldn't have been her. Sun Wukong, the Faunus-boy, was a stowaway. So another no-go for the assassins. That left only Blake Belladonna, Roman Torchwick and Ruby Rose. And seeing as Blake was a Faunus…and according to some rumors, an ex-White Fang member….she was most likely their target.
However, those people were dead and all was well before all could be not well. Only that wasn't remotely true and nobody should be feeling save. Because he had seen that pattern before; a group of averagely skilled people get sent and either complete the job or not. If they didn't complete the job, a second attempt would be made –by means of an elite assassin, usually a superpowered villain or a fallen Hunter. And if either of those went after Blake or her friends to get to her, it would be a bloodbath. And he did not like bloodbaths.
Glynda Goodwitch had instantly understood the threat and, probably because Ozpin had ordered her to, had ordered Math to stay behind to let the authorities deal with the assassin. But he couldn't just stay behind. She didn't understand, but Ozpin did. Ozpin knew of the past and that was exactly why he didn't want an Adamant-interference. But the human nature was, for all intents and purposes, a funny thing. He knew that he probably shouldn't interfere with every single thing that could cost lives, but he had to. It was his way of compensating.
One of the shadows on a nearby rooftop moved and the young Adamant realized that the shadow wasn't a shadow at all. It was the shadow of a shadow. Curious.
He had been staking out on the rooftop for over an hour, waiting until the would-be-assassin was going to show up and meet his informant. Because not many people knew the students by their actual names, there weren't many people that could give their name away. And the very few people that did know the students by their full name were a few people that Headmaster Ozpin had gathered on a little note.
And he had borrowed that note and memorized it the evening before the stake-out. And the only person that was capable of giving out the name 'Blake Belladonna' with malicious intent, or was in any way connected to the murder that was going to take place, was the same guy who had probably leaked the Intel before.
Math looked over his shoulder to the unconscious form of a bearded, nasty-looking fellow. The informant wouldn't be informing anyone at that specific rooftop in that specific part of the town with that specific timing. In that specific spot.
Because he was going to take the guy's place.
The shadow on the rooftop moved to the edge of the building and carefully avoided stepping into the light. It was slowly assuming the form of a person in the cover of the evening and the Adamant's eyes slowly adjusted to the shape as he blocked out every other shape that could disrupt the assassin.
The shape leaped off the building with more elegance than he had seen in any other male and he narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Fighting elegant martial artists was always a pain in the behind and he had no desire to dance around in the darkness with someone that was most likely going to be armed to the teeth with knives and other pointy objects, especially not when he only possessed an Aura device.
A lovable device, but still.
The figure reached out, grabbed a water-pipe and swung itself upwards without any visible strain. The cover of the night couldn't shroud the assassin in darkness forever and as he crossed the distance between the first roof and the one Math was currently standing on, bits and pieces of his outfit became visible.
But by the time the Professor could figure out just what the assassin looked like, a cold realization overcame him and he sighed in annoyance.
'She's coming for me,' He thought and then scrambled to his feet.
By the time he was able to assume a reasonable position, the dark-clothed assassin had landed on top of the roof and turned to face him.
Math felt heat sting his cheeks when he beheld the figure of the assassin that he had so stupidly assumed to be a man. Sometimes role models fitted and sometimes they didn't, but he had always assumed that role models for genders didn't exist. As such, a dangerous living like the one of an assassin could be held by both males and females. Therefore, rules of simplicity and cutting-out aside, the assassin had had to have been a male.
The assassin was a female.
His ran a less-than-professional gaze up and down the girl's body and his blush increased exponentially. He had seen Operative Greystone, Lima Two-One and evne Lima Two-Four in their black, skintight suits. Never had he batted an eye at that. But in the intimacy of open hostilities and combat in the evening, such feelings were harder to block out. The female standing in front of him was…well-endowed, to say in the least. A purple belt was strapped around her hips, containing multiple tools and weapons. The suit she was wearing also had slight shades of purple and pink woven throughout it, but it was still dominantly black. Her face was…pleasant to look at. Not pretty like girly-pretty, but attractive like powerful-woman-that-was-going-to-make-you-enjoy-getting-beaten-up attractive.
…that phrase went somewhere horrible…
"Well hello there, it seems that I have a rather cute informant this time. What do you have for me, sweetie?"
She had to be in her early twenties, but her attitude had a very impressive hint of both professionalism and flirt…ism. It made her look friendly but to the point…which in turn would confuse her enemies. She was good.
Math Adamant did the most impressive and cool thing he could think of when facing such a woman: he smiled idiotically and waved at her, chuckling like an idiot.
'Less nonverbal, more verbal!' His clever mind yelled at him and he slapped himself on the wrist that was waving at her like it belonged to a different, more stupid Math. As soon as he opened his mouth, the words assumed direct control over his hyped-up blush-inducing part of irrationality. "Sorry, less cute informant was waiting for you this time. But don't worry! He's lying over there. Want me to wake him up?"
Yes, he was aware of the fact that he was flapping around with his arms as he gestured to himself, her and the unconscious hairy man. And yes, he didn't care.
A brief look of confusion ran over the assassin's face as she realized that her information had been intercepted, but she hid it within a second and her face reassumed its calm and amused demeanor. "Depends. Do you have something interesting for me instead?"
"Afraid not," he told her and his eyes slipped down to her hips again. No! Bad Adamant! "Well, I could tell you a knock-knock joke but they're rubbish."
"Uh-huh…" she muttered and the look of amusement disappeared. "Any other reason for making my job slightly harder? Or did you just feel like knocking out the nearest dude?"
"Not really," He replied and crossed his arms. His brain had discarded the useless feelings of absolute 'squea' at her appearance and he was just starting to process that this lady was a killer that was after one of his students. "But let's not be rude here. Introductions! I'm the guy whose friend you were hired to kill. Who are you?"
"Oh, you already know me?" she said in turn and one of her arms slowly edged towards her belt. "Who told you of me contract?" She started walking towards him. She was actively walking towards him and her way of walking was plain seductive! He needed to do something, really fast. Something clever and not, with extra stressing on not stupid.
He started walking to her too. Because that was not stupid at all. "Oh, a bit of this and a bit of that. What do you actually know about your target?"
She gave him a predatory smile, but he didn't believe that she was the sadistic type. "Age nineteen, male, elite martial artist-"
"Wrong," He corrected her with a smile. "What is her name?"
"Her?" The assassin asked with confusion.
"Yes, her. The name of girl you were ordered to kill. What is her name?"
The female looked suspicious of his sure way of talking, but she complied with a sigh anyway. "Oh well, because you have such a cute face. Belladonna, working with the White Fang as a Special Forces Operative. Why do you care? Are you going to try to stop me?"
She was so dead wrong. "Me? Not really. What if I told you that Blake Belladonna, your target, was a student attending the prestigious Beacon Academy?" Wait…what was that about the White Fang?"
"I wouldn't believe you," she replied and frowned. It only made her cute to look at. She was probably dangerous enough to kill three of him. Stop trying to see the mean assassin as cute. "And who are you anyway? How did you know of my contract?"
He smiled at her. "Adamant. Professor at Beacon Academy."
Caught by surprise, the female was quick to reply. "Adamant? From Atlas? You belong in a grave."
His smile adopted a bitter quality as he gave her a curt nod. "That's me."
The assassin looked at him again, this time with a rather calculating look in her eyes. "A mass one…or perhaps a criminal organization. But not a school."
"Things are rarely as black and white," he grimly stated. "Now then honey…why don't you tell me who hired you and we will work out a deal?"
"Oh no, not going to happen," she said and her smiled came right back on her face. And it was seductive again. "I'll tell you how this is going to work. I am going to find out the truth about Belladonna and if I am right, I will kill him. Or her. If you are right…you'll hear from me."
"What makes you think I am going to let you walk?" He asked, already knowing that he was totally going to let her walk.
"Because I don't want to kill an innocent person and if you really work at Beacon, you shouldn't want to hurt innocent bystanders."
They had stepped so close to each other that he could basically reach out and flick her nose. Not that he would do that…initially. "Are you threatening me?"
"I am giving you a choice, really. Guys who chase after me generally end up wounded or dead. You won't be able to stop me."
"I don't need to stop you."
"Only if you are right."
Ooooh…she was good. Very good. An assassin that genuinely didn't want to hurt innocent people that had been given the wrong information? And instead of backing out, she wanted to find the correct info. And she was going to find the correct information without harming anyone, because that was her thing. She was bluffing with the threatening of other people. "I'm often right," he finally stated. "Not always, but often. I'll let you run along for now-"
She stepped forwards and reached out with her arm, as if she was pulling him in for a kiss. He instinctively froze and then completely forgot how to defend himself, watching as the assassin brought her face to his ears. "You don't 'let' me do anything. I just got away."
"What are you-?" He sputtered, but she jumped backwards after rubbing him through his hair and pressed something against his shoulder. He felt the cylindrical object flare with heat and he tried to bat it off, but he wasn't fast enough and it detonated with enough force to slam him to the ground, his breath following him down.
A flash of brilliant white light blinded him and simultaneously, a spectacularly loud ringing assailed his ears. His primary senses were knocked out for a while and he quickly realized that ir had been a flash-bang that had exploded on him. His shoulder burning wasn't the most important thing on his mind, as the ground underneath him was trembling and shaking and he half expected it to give out altogether.
Adamant placed his hands over his head and prepared for impact, but nothing happened. The floor's shaking slowly faded away and the ringing in his ears became louder, while other sounds managed to penetrate the thick haze.
He still couldn't see enough though.
Moaning and reaching for his shoulder, he tried to get to his feet again. He failed. So he tried again and that time, he didn't fall flat on his can again.
'Flash-bang,' He thought while he gritted his teeth angrily 'I hate those. Where did she hide that?'
He slowly reached for his bowtie and much to his dismay, he found that it was gone. Not gone as in displaced, but gone as in actually gone-gone. Very much gone.
The assassin had stolen his bowtie, blown him up with a flash-bang and set out to hunt down Blake. Not in that specific order of priorities and events, but still.
He sighed explosively and grabbed his scroll to tell Johnson to pick him up. Glynda was going to discipline him…which probably involved smacking him with her cane until he had grown a beard. He didn't like that very much.
And even as Johnson picked him up in his jeep and brought him back to Beacon Academy to be shouted at by Goodwitch he didn't worry too much. He had better things to worry about than one angry Professor. Besides; Johnson was escorting him to the office of said Goodwitch and Braunschweiger was riding shotgun in the jeep. There was no way that one Professor could be scary just because he had lost some lousy, attractive assassin…right?
…nope. He was dead wrong. And the very moment he set foot in Glynda's office, he understood in just how much trouble he really was. Even though he had a Johnson and a Braunschweiger standing behind him, he felt about as safe as when he was facing down an entire army of rabid, frenzying Grimm.
And perhaps even less safe than that.
"You," Goodwitch started with a soft, threatening voice that quickly increased in volume and aggression, "idiotic, insane, blind lunatic! You found out that an assassin was after one of our students and instead of contacting the authorities like any sane man would do, you tried to take her out on your own? Are you truly that daft?"
He sighed in frustration, but kept his annoyance to himself. He really did not have time for this… "No Glynda, I merely attempted to prevent a failure at the hands of the VPD."
The Goodwitch was not amused. "Why do you insist on calling out their inferiority when you blew it yourself?"
"Math is Red like Roses," Braunschweiger softly muttered.
He ignored that remark. "Professor Goodwitch, if the police had encountered her she would have escaped. I managed to talk some sense into that woman before she hurt anyone!"
"You are the only one who needs sense right now Math!"
"Maybe he should take a look in the…" Johnson started, but lost his words halfway. "What's the thingie called again? Reflective, on the wall?"
"Mirror?"
"Mirror."
Goodwitch threw the two joking men a downright murderous look and they both stepped backwards.
"Maybe we should hide in Shadows?" Braunschweiger proposed.
"We should hide FROM these shadows!" Johnson replied as he beheld the dark anger that lay hidden within Glynda's eyes.
Professor Adamant swallowed nervously and realized that, for the first time in a long while, he had actually and royally angered Glynda Goodwitch. "I burn…." He muttered, realizing just how deep the mess was that he was sitting in.
Goodwitch whipped out her cane. "This will be the day," she muttered, "I've been waiting for."
"Miss Goodwitch is Red like Roses too," Braunschweiger then saw fit to add to their chaotic conversation.
" More like Gold," Johnson replied softly.
Once more the Professor's furious head snapped up to stare at them and this time, the two bulky and normally ultra-badass men understood the message with perfect clarity.
"Time to say goodbye!" Mister Braunschweiger then called and bolted as fast as Arnoldly possible.
And Johnson was pretty fast too. It appeared that he was now all alone in the troublesome situation…and perhaps Glynda was right too.
Had he messed up? Yes. Should he have let the Police handle it? Maybe. Would he give up on meeting the assassin? Hell no.
Day 47 Sunday, 19:22 – Vale city district, near {DATA EXPUNGED] as extraction zone.
Cal Lima-Two-One kept his finger on the trigger of his rifle as he stared at the opposite group of people. This entire transaction felt wrong to him, but he was in no position to complain. After the disastrous results of the security leak a few days ago, Onyx' reputation was dented. They needed every advantage they could get and a political ally was a good way of gathering that advantage. Still, this situation demanded something only few soldiers of Onyx were suitable for; diplomacy.
The group that they were supposed to transfer one of their own unit to consisted of four humans; two of them were wearing white armour with black under-pieces and visors and large, grey rifles, while the other two were obviously not military. The orange-haired Penny was one of them and a tall, grey-haired man with a lab-coat was another one.
Cal knew this organization, but that was about it. The rest on them was classified on a need-to-know basis, which meant 'none of his damn business'. The General had told them that Lieutenant Yale had acknowledged the order…and that the Themeluesi himself had conversed with Yale about the subject. And if the top man himself got himself involved…things were hitting the fan pretty quick.
But you could never be sure with Yale and the General; Cal had never even met the General and the only time he had met up with Yale had been after a severe biological threat, somewhere in Atlas, a year or three ago.
Normal problems, like level D- and C-threats, were handled by normal Onyx soldiers. Larger problems, like level B and A, were handled by single Operatives. And Cal had yet to hear of an S-threat that required all three of the Operatives to ream up. Then again, he hadn't heard a lot of things in Onyx. The brass tended to keep things hidden from him and his team…but he understood why.
The grey-haired man stared at him and his team with a confident expression, but Penny looked very nervous. She had her hands in front of her chest and she was nervously paying with her fingers, while her knees were bended inwards in a light X-form.
It was hard to believe that this girl had wiped the floor with an entire White Fang cell. But the most dangerous people were often the people you didn't expect it from…like Ash. The boy might be childish, different and a bit damaged, but he had a few triggers that could turn him into the killing-machine rivalled only by the triggers of the Operatives.
Not including Blackwood of course.
"Fireteam Lima, I presume?" The scientist-man said with a weary voice.
"Affirmative," The Faunus replied. Standing to his left was Two-Four, his second-in-command. To his right stood Two-Two, and diagonally behind him stood Two-Three, without his helmet and clad in a cheap imitation of regular civilian clothes.
Yale wanted Ash to be an escort for Penny for when she was in the city…and he had been very…compelling.
You didn't defy your commanding officer.
"I take it the boy is part of our deal?" The man then asked.
"The boy IS your deal," Two-Two aggressively said. He was the only one of their group that had been completely unwilling to socialize with the students from Beacon and that difference had made him a bit…easier to tick off.
"I meant no offense," the scientist was quick to reply. His demeanor and facial expression were completely neutral and outside that momentary look of exhaustion, he looked devoid of emotions. "However shallow the reasons for this transactions might seem, the benefits of this all far outweigh the diplomatic implications."
That was a fancy way of saying 'mind your own business and things will be fine.' Onyx often used the same methods. Well, outside of saying that things would be fine. "The 'diplomatic implications' are irrelevant to me and my team. Our job was to escort Lima Two-Three to the transaction zone."
Penny nervously smiled to Ash, but the boy didn't smile back. He knew about as much as the rest of the team, but that lack of Intel was just a pain to him. The kid might not be as unable to function in society as Mantis or Greystone were, but he wasn't without his issues. Nobody was. He only knew that he was going to spend time with people he didn't know and that…might just belong to one of his triggers.
"It's going to be fine, Three," Lily told the boy in what was supposed to be a reassuring tone. Only she didn't really feel sure herself, so her tone was sort of devoid of assurance.
"Tell your officer that we shall soon live up to our part of the deal," The scientist said as he beckoned for Ash to join him.
"Can these assets be trusted?" Lily asked the scientist.
"Excuse me?" The man, obviously a noncombatant, replied. His tone wasn't unfriendly, but it also wasn't very patient.
"Are these soldiers trustworthy?" He rephrased the question.
The two white-clad soldiers looked at each other briefly before returning to attention. They were also pretty well-trained. If this thing turned out to be a ruse, the resulting fight could be a long and bloody one.
"These two are of no consequence to our deal," the lab-coated man replied starkly. "You must excuse us, we have work to do. Are these terms acceptable?
Cal looked at Ash, who looked as pale as Weiss Schnee. "They are," he replied. "The extent of your end of the deal will be discussed later and in greater deal. As of now…the girl and Two-Three are…associates."
The Faunus didn't dislike the girl for what her companions wanted to happen. On the contrary; he was perfectly aware of the effects that people could have on other people with stress or traumas. Soldiers with signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder could be cleared perfectly if they had friends, lovers or family waiting for them outside the zone of conflict. If there was something wrong with Penny, this was a perfect method to help her recover. However…Ash was still recovering from his own ordeals. This situation could help him…but it could also break him.
And people would get hurt if he snapped. The only persons he was capable of working with were…well, them. Two-Two was a close friend to him and Two-Four was the big sister of the team; helping them all deal with the hurting.
The man nodded curtly. "Good. The paperwork will be sent later. Penny, Two-Three, you two are free to go for now. Return to the designated area at eleven."
The girl nodded slowly and Ash stared at the floor. Not exactly an ideal start of their new friendship.
"Good luck kid," he told his teammate and thought about patting him on his shoulder, but he quickly thought better of it. Ash didn't like it when people touched him and he didn't blame the young soldier for that.
He hesitated for a little while longer before turning his back on his teammate, beckoning for his team to follow him out again. Lima Two-Three was now paired to the girl named Penny and both Onyx as Penny's associates would be keeping an eye on them. The moment something went wrong, they would be all over the city. The time for discretion was coming to an end.
"Is this the right thing to do?" Lily asked him once they were outside the hearing distance of the other people. Ash and Penny had stayed behind, while both representing organizations left them be.
"I've been asking myself that question for a while now…" he replied.
"And?" Two-Two urged him as they walked towards their vehicle.
"As long as I can see the good of it, we can do it," he replied. "And for now, I can't see anything bad coming out of. Not yet."
But as the three of them climbed aboard their Puma ATV, the moral question of right and wrong wasn't exactly foremost in his thoughts. It was the dilemma of leaving one of his own behind in what was most likely going to be a sharp-fest.
"WARNING, UNNATURAL FORMATION OF GRIMM DETECTED. ERROR: UNABLE TO CALCULATE ETA AT TANGO-PRIMARY. CONCLUSION: TASK-FORCE RWBY UNABLE TO REACH TANGO-PRIMARY IN TIME.
Onyx Conclave network analysis, Monday 07:06.
